Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Here's who to watch for tech policy roles in a possible second Trump administration.
Why it matters: Who Trump surrounds himself with — from his Cabinet to lower level officials to outsider advisers — will have a profound impact on how tech policy is carried out.
Michael Kratsios, managing director at Scale AI
He was chief technology officer during Trump's first term, serving as the president's top tech adviser, and also was the acting under secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
- He joined the Trump White House from Peter Thiel's world, having served as his chief of staff and a principal at Thiel Capital.
Lynne Parker, recently of the University of Tennessee
Parker was director of the National AI Initiative Office, which launched under Trump, and left her post in 2022.
- Parker just announced her retirement from UT.
Jacob Hellberg, member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
Hellberg is also a Palantir adviser.
- He's been increasingly influential on tech policy issues on Capitol Hill, driving Republican conversations around TikTok and national security.
Brendan Carr, top Republican on the FCC
Carr will most likely be next chair of the commission if Trump wins.
- He wrote the chapter on the FCC in Project 2025.
Friction point: One area where Trump's views diverge from some of his possible personnel picks is TikTok.
- Hellberg, Carr and prominent conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation support the divest-or-ban law.
- "A law is a law at this point so I honestly would love to see Trump finish what he started in 2020 with his executive order to ban TikTok and WeChat," said Heritage Foundation tech policy director Kara Frederick.
